Kendall adopts 2014 budget

By Linda Byrne, Contributing Writer :
September 24, 2013

Kendall County Commissioners Monday unanimously adopted a $33.17 million budget for fiscal year 2014, ending a summer-long budget process that drew little public attention from Kendall County residents.

The county's fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The 2014 figure means the county expects to receive $33.17 million in revenue and spend all of it on salaries and other line items determined in the summer budget workshops, said Kendall County Auditor Corinna Speer after the meeting.

“”No budget adjustments can be made the first six months of a new budget,” Speer said. “If I run out of pencils in March, I have to go ask another department to borrow pencils.”

The budget is considerably higher than the 2013 adopted budget of $24.99 million, which has since been amended to $26.89 million to reflect money received and spent on the Herff Road expansion project.

During Monday's meeting, County Judge Darrel Lux said this year's budget process went smoothly, and with a watchful eye on the taxpayers' pocketbooks, the budget is being funded with a slightly lower tax rate.

“It was a challenging budget. I think we were able to accomplish a lot,” said Lux, who was appointed to the position in June following the death of County Judge Gaylan Schroeder. Lux added that two commissioners, Pct. 1's Mike Fincke and Pct. 3 Commissioner Richard Chapman, were involved in the county budget process for the first time.

Robert C. Reinarz, a Kendall County taxpayer, was the only person to address the court during a public hearing on the budget.

“As a taxpayer, having sat through this process, we're so blessed to have you all as commissioners. You truly represented the interests of your constituents this year,” Reinarz said. “You achieved something that, when we first started, you didn't think you could do it. Gentlemen, you did it, and it's a credit to you and the people who elected you.

“The fact that you only took out a $7.5 million bond for the Herff Road project instead of $10 million is a wonderful example of fiscal responsibility.”

His comments about a smooth process were echoed by commissioners.

“It was almost enjoyable,” said Pct. 4 Commissioner Kenneth Rusch. “I'm glad people came and went through it with us and know what we have to decide, how we decide, which projects get funded, which projects don't get funded.”

Among the projects that received funding were requests from the Kendall County Sheriff's Office for more than $140,000 for new software, as well as new software purchases for the justice of the peace offices and the county auditor's office.

After the meeting, Sheriff Al Auxier, who took office on Jan. 1, praised the decision.

“It means for the first time we'll all be linked, including the city of Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch,” Auxier said.

Tax Assessor-Collector James Hudson told the court a tax rate of $0.394 per $100 of assessed property value would be sufficient to fund the budget, down from $0.395 last year.

The debt service rate will be 4.543 cents and the maintenance and operations rate will be 34.857 cents per $100 of taxable value, Hudson said.

Lux pointed out that an individual taxpayer's bill may be more or less than last year, depending on property values set by the Kendall Appraisal District.

At Monday's meeting, commissioners also voted unanimously to offer discounts to taxpayers who pay their taxes before the Jan. 31 deadline. The discounts will be: 3 percent if paid in October; 2 percent if paid in November and 1 percent if paid in December. Lux said the October payment option is very popular with taxpayers.

Commissioners said the next step will be to establish a long-range planning program that will consider big-ticket expenditures such as a new EMS facility and improvements at the Kendall County jail, where overcrowding sometimes is an issue.

Speer said the adopted budget would be posted on the county's website, www.co.kendall.tx.us, next week for public access.